Haiti / Americas

  
Radio journalist Pétion Rospide was shot dead while driving home on June 10. (Radio Sans Fin)

Radio Sans Fin host Pétion Rospide killed in Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Miami, June 13, 2019 — Haitian authorities should conduct a swift and comprehensive investigation into the killing of journalist Pétion Rospide and ensure those responsible are brought to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Reuters journalist Robenson Sanon holds up his blood covered arm, after he was shot while documenting clashes between national police and protesters near the presidential palace in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on February 13, 2019. (Dieu Nalio Chery/AP)

Journalist shot in anti-government demonstrations in Haiti

Miami, February 14, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Haitian authorities to investigate the shooting of a reporter during an anti-government demonstration and to ensure the safety of journalists covering ongoing protests.

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A file photo of freelance photojournalist Vladimir Legagneur, who went missing in Haiti's Port-au-Prince on March 14, 2018. (AFP/Valerie Baeriswyl)

Haitian photojournalist missing in Port-au-Prince

New York, March 28, 2018–Haitian authorities must do everything possible to locate freelance photojournalist Vladjimir Legagneur and conduct a full and transparent investigation into his disappearance, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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President François Hollande speaks at the opening of the Open Government Partnership summit in Paris in December, where press freedom was added to the agenda. (Jacky Naegelen/Pool/AFP)

Press freedom on OGP agenda as authoritarianism rises

There was poignancy to the Paris summit of the Open Government Partnership, as leaders from government and civil society took the stage to defend a political ideology under siege: liberal democracy. French President François Hollande, who amid weak public support announced he will not seek re-election in 2017, called democracy “so fragile and so precious.”…

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Activists demonstrate against human rights abuses committed by Haiti's former dictator Jean-Claude 'Baby Doc' Duvalier outside the St. Louis de Gonzague school chapel, where his funeral is held, in Port-au-Prince on October 11. (Reuters/Marc Lee Steed)

Duvalier’s death must not mean end of proceedings against dictatorship

The sudden death on October 4 of former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier and the initial information that he would be honored with a state funeral stunned the victims who had filed suit against Duvalier for massive violations of human rights during his regime. It also created an unexpected ripple effect in the press and the social…

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A Haitian woman hands out photographs of Jean Lépold Dominique, a journalist who was killed in 2000. (AFP/Thony Belizaire)

CPJ calls on Haitian authorities to act in Dominique murder

New York, January 21, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes new progress in the case of Jean Lépold Dominique, a prominent Haitian radio journalist who was murdered in 2000, and renews its calls to the Haitian authorities to bring all those responsible to justice.

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CPJ urges OAS not to weaken human rights system

Dear OAS Ministers of Foreign Affairs: Ahead of the assembly of the Organization of American States on Friday, the Committee to Protect Journalists urges you to oppose any attempts to debilitate the regional human rights system. The failure of member states to preserve the autonomy and independence of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and its special rapporteur on freedom of expression would make citizens throughout the hemisphere more vulnerable to human rights violations and represent a blow to democracy in the Americas.

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Demonstrators burn signs with images of Haitian President Michel Martelly during a protest in Port-au-Prince on February 7, 2012. (AP/Ramon Espinosa)

Was letter to Haiti website just part of Martelly’s theatrics?

As a former entertainer better known as “Sweet Micky,” it is perhaps unsurprising that Haitian President Michel Martelly has been theatrical at times in his dealings with the press. At one media event in October, the President answered a critical question posed by a journalist by telling him, “I curse your mother,” according to press…

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Pierre Elisem was shot by Aristide supporters in Port-au-Prince in February 2004. (AP/Walter Astrada)

Left for dead in Haiti: How CPJ helped one journalist

Ten years ago I joined the staff of the Committee to Protect Journalists to launch the Journalist Assistance program, an initiative, as CPJ board member Gene Roberts describes, developed to establish a standing direct response mechanism for journalists facing threats and attacks. When I left the position in 2009, many people asked me what case…

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Berhane (Colin McConnell/Toronto Star)

CPJ’s exiled journalists survey: Behind the numbers

In 2007, my colleague Karen Phillips suggested we do something to mark World Refugee Day. Initially planning to publish a brief statement, I set about reviewing our data for background, checking in with older journalist cases about their current situation and looking broadly for trends to highlight. As the number of cases began counting into…

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